DEAR BROTHERS Knight Commander's Message Dear Brothers, In August 2023, I was honored to be installed as your 42nd Knight Commander. We have much of which to be proud and much to celebrate since that time. I wish to thank Former Knight Commander C. Douglas Simmons III and the 42nd Executive Council for their leadership, commitment, and their example during the past biennium. The Order continues to emphasize our values of Reverence, Gentility, Knowledge, Leadership, Brotherhood, and Excellence to fulfill our purpose of being a Moral Compass for the Modern Gentleman. In the spring of 2023, our chapters and members achieved the monumental mark of a 3.136 GPA, the highest in a regular semester for our Order. This past fall, the overall GPA reached a 3.087, the highest in history for the Order in a fall semester. But that’s not all. In the spring of 2023, our chapters collectively topped the $1 million mark in fundraising for The Independence Fund—providing allterrain track chairs for catastrophically wounded veterans.
King V. Aiken, Jr. (Kappa–Mercer ‘83)
This leaves our chapters at a 65-man average size, and as of the spring term, we have reached our highest membership level in history, topping 8,000 undergraduates.
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Furthermore, I am pleased to announce that we continue to grow in our membership. This fall, our chapters, have successfully recruited new members at a remarkable rate, boasting an 11 1/2 percent increase over the previous fall in 2022. And our chapters are maintaining an average 90 percent initiation rate for these new members that join—creating the largest new class of initiated men in our history. This leaves our chapters at a 65-man average size, and as of the spring term, we have reached our highest membership level in history, topping 8,000 undergraduates. These results are a direct reflection of our young men, their hard work, and the undeniable need for the product we offer—that is the values, history, and experience of KA. And finally, the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation Crimson & Gold Society continues to support the needs of our undergraduates. Academic excellence, leadership education, and career-building personal development are crucial to their success. The Crimson & Gold Society has for three years now reached the goal of more than 1,000 brothers and friends contributing $1,000 annually. Last fall, I had the privilege of attending my chapter’s 150th anniversary, Kappa Chapter at Mercer University. To serve as Knight Commander is humbling, to preside over my chapter’s sesquicentennial in that capacity was a hallmark of my term. As I’ve said since the Convention in 2023, as a charge to all our chapters, “Let’s Go!” and now I like to follow that up with, “Because KA is on the move!” God bless you and may God continue to bless Kappa Alpha Order. Fraternally,
The Kappa Alpha Journal (ISSN #08888868, USPS #014-747) is an educational journal published four times a year by Kappa Alpha Order, 115 Liberty Hall Rd., Lexington, Virginia, 24450. Periodicals postage paid at Lexington, Virginia, and additional mailing offices. The Kappa Alpha Journal seeks to reflect the Kappa Alpha experience by presenting news of active and alumni chapters, individual members, and the national organization; by addressing current issues facing the Greek system and the Order; by educating and entertaining those interested in the welfare of Kappa Alpha; and by serving as a historical record. The Kappa Alpha Journal has been published since 1879. From 1883 to 1885 it was known as The Magazine of Kappa Alpha. Kappa Alpha Order was founded in 1865 at Washington College (Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia. Today, Kappa Alpha boasts 125 undergraduate chapters and more than 60 alumni chapters across the nation.
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